Uriah Kiser, Author at Potomac Local News

48 hours of rain leaves streets, park underwater

Published June 3, 2018 at 10:28PM

The weekend rolled in with a bang late Friday night.

A massive thunderstorm hovered overhead producing a light show of frequent blue flashes, followed up by thundering booms that would rival the sounds that emanate from the munitions training ranges and Quantico.

News

Updated: Manassas business of the year Shining Sol Candle Company founder slapped with no-trespassing order

By Uriah Kiser

Published May 30, 2018 at 10:25PM | Updated May 31, 2018 at 12:15PM

MANASSAS — Candlemakers aren’t welcome in the small four-space parking lot behind Shining Sol Candle Company.

Manassas police served the firm’s owner, Pete Evick, with a no-trespassing order this month that prohibits Evick from walking out of the back door of his shop at 9109 Center Street in Downtown Manassas onto the pavement behind the building. If he does, Evick could be prosecuted, according to the trespass order.

News

In the wake of trust issues, Prince William schools urged to overhaul personnel improvement process, hire an ombudsman

By Uriah Kiser

Published May 29, 2018 at 4:01PM | Updated May 29, 2018 at 9:32PM

Prince William Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Steven Walts.

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY — Prince William County’s highly paid school’s superintendent should hold regular meetings with the public in the same manner as the county’s police chief.

That’s the recommendation of a recent report from Gainesville District Supervisor Peter Candland, who doubts the ability of Schools Superintendent Steven L. Walts’ ability to lead the division following complaints from parents and faculty in the wake of an internal investigation into former Ronald Regan Middle School Alfie Turner.

Features

From wasabi pickles to worm fertilizer, North Stafford’s farmer’s market has it all

By Uriah Kiser

Published May 27, 2018 at 9:53PM

Editor’s note: Please enjoy this original story free today in honor of Memorial Day, and thank you to the men and women in uniform who have served our great nation.

NORTH STAFFORD — It’s awfully hard to ignore a van when the markings on the site state that the vehicle is full of a four-letter word that starts with “S.”

News

Dumfries aims to tweak hotel, BPOL, cigarette taxes

By Uriah Kiser

Published May 24, 2018 at 6:19PM | Updated June 11, 2018 at 4:55PM

DUMFRIES — Officials in Dumfries are looking to lower some of the town’s taxes while raising the tax on cigarettes.

Town Manager Robert Ritter says the town will hold a public hearing on June 5 at the town hall where the Town Council will hear from residents about a plan to lower the business and professional license tax (BPOL) and its hotel tax.

News

Transportation planners look to 2045, see fewer free parking spaces, more toll lanes

By Uriah Kiser

Published May 24, 2018 at 10:02AM

WOODBRIDGE — Transportation planners in the Metropolitan Washington region are trying to get a glimpse of what the future holds.

Lyn Erickson, of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments Transportation Planning Board, says the future of transportation in our region will hinge on seven new initiatives. They include doubling the number of workers who telecommute, expanding toll lanes, and express bus service in the region.

Business

Didlake to expand Manassas headquarters on Breeden Avenue

By Uriah Kiser

Published May 23, 2018 at 5:06PM

MANASSAS — Didlake, one of the region’s largest employers of people with disabilities, will expand its Manassas headquarters.

The city council approved a proffer change that will allow the firm to use an existing one-story, 12,000 square-foot building at 8621 Breeden Avenue, as a portion of its new offices.

News

The changes coming to nine Manassas crosswalks you might never have noticed

By Uriah Kiser

Published May 22, 2018 at 6:26PM

MANASSAS — It’s a summer ritual in Downtown Manassas: replacing the bricks in the crosswalks in some of the city’s busiest intersections.

Heavily-trafficked Route 28 runs right through the heart of downtown, where more than 20,000 cars per day travel the street, according to daily traffic counts from the Virginia Department of Transportation.

Business

Serendipity Quilting Studio opens at Tackett’s Mill Lakeside

By Uriah Kiser

Published May 21, 2018 at 4:41PM | Updated May 21, 2018 at 5:37PM

Debbie White

LAKE RIDGE — It didn’t take long for Debbie White to come out of retirement.

The bookkeeper turned professional quilter opened her new fabric store and sewing workshop Serendipity Quilting Studio at Tackett’s Mill Lakeside.

Originals

Manassas officials huddle to find school funding solution as residents face massive tax increases starting in 2020

By Uriah Kiser

Published May 17, 2018 at 10:30PM | Updated May 18, 2018 at 12:15PM

MANASSAS — Record enrollment in Manassas Public Schools is driving the need to build a new elementary school, which could send the city’s tax rate skyrocketing.

The news of the potential tax hike comes on the heels of a 3.72 percent tax increase approved this week by the city council that takes effect in the fiscal year 2019 starting July 1, which hiked the average homeowner real estate tax bill to $4,075 percent to cover a promise to provide an additional 2.65 percent school funding increase. Last year, taxes jumped five percent to fund new capital improvement projects like a new police station to be built on South Grant Avenue.